What could a Green New Deal look like?
Transcript of What could a Green New Deal look like?
What could a Green New Deal look like?
What is the Green New Deal?
• Not legislation but a resolution• Introduced February 7, 2019
• H. Res 109 introduced by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
• S. Res. 59 introduced by Ed Markey, D-Mass.
• Duty of federal government to• Achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions
• Create millions of good high-paying jobs
• Invest in infrastructure and industry
• Secure clean air and water, climate resiliency, healthy food
• Through a 10-year national mobilization
Who supports it?
• 100 House co-sponsors
• 14 Senate co-sponsors
• Ohio co-sponsors• Rep. Marcia Fudge, OH-11
• Ohio – Not supporting
• Sens. Brown, Portman
• Reps. Beatty, Kaptur, Ryan
• Reps. Balderson, Chabot, Davidson, Gibbs, Gonzalez, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Latta, Stivers, Turner, Wenstrup
What would a Green New Deal look like?
• What specific policies and programs could be enacted under a Green New Deal?• Infrastructure
• Buildings
• Manufacturing
• Climate Conservation Corps
• Climate Friendly Farming
• Examples on the state and local levelsSunrise Action, Washington DC (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
Infrastructure Renewal
• Repair, upgrade, and expand
• Railways
• Bridges
• Energy grid
• Water lines
• Not just repair what is broken
but build new systems
• Create millions of good-paying jobs
Infrastructure Renewal
• Water• Replace lead pipes for millions of people
with lead-contaminated water
• Green infrastructure to reduce flooding
Lead pipes in Flint, MI
State and Local Examples
• Pittsburgh United - Clean Rivers Campaign• Unions, community groups, enviro orgs
• Pushed for green infrastructure projects
• Secured public investments in
• Creating green spaces to absorb rainwater
• Replacing lead pipes
• Improving roads
Pittsburgh United / Sierra Club
Infrastructure Renewal
• Transportation• Between cities
• Nationwide network of high-speed rail
• Affordable, quick, safe
• Could cut need for air travel
• Within cities• Light rail
• Bus rapid transit – “light rail on wheels”California High-Speed Rail (NBC Bay Area)
State and Local Examples
• Cleveland’s HealthLine• 5 million customers per year
• Buses every 5 to 7 minutes
• Travel in separate lanes
• Get traffic signal preference
• Prepaid fares like a subway
• Covered stations with seats, message boards
• Elevated platform for same-level boarding
Cleveland’s HealthLine BRT System (Roger DuPuis / Flickr)
Infrastructure Renewal
• Energy• Develop a “smart grid”
• Hire workers to• Build transmission lines
• Connect wind and solar to grid
• Expand battery storage
Government Accountability Office (Flickr)
State and Local Examples
• Cincinnati: Aggregation• Pools customers to leverage best rates
• Buys 100% renewable energy certificates
• Committed to buying 100 MW direct energy from solar farm in Highland County
• Central Ohio• Columbus will put aggregation for 100%
renewable energy on ballot in November
• Worthington aggregated for 100% RE
• Other cities considering thisCincinnati net zero police station
Buildings
• Weatherize America
• Retrofit homes, businesses, and government
buildings
• Nationwide this would
• Create hundreds of thousands of jobs
• Save billions of dollars
• Move us to climate stability
• We could achieve these goals with
• National energy efficiency standards
• Public investments to fund efficiency projects
Columbus City Skyline (Allan Foster/Flickr)
State and Local Examples
• Climate Mobilization Act – New York City
• Buildings responsible for 70% carbon emissions
• Takes aim at 50,000 buildings over 25,000 sq. ft.
• Lowers emissions 40% by 2030, 80% by 2050
• Will create 8,000 jobs per year
• Includes terms to prevent rent increases
• Future Energy Jobs Act - Illinois
• Helps low-income families with community solar
• Job training to formerly incarcerated people
• Efficiency standards to create 7,000 jobs each year
• Cuts $4 billion in energy costs for families Hearst Tower, New York City (Wikipedia)
Manufacturing
• Manufacturing helped create the U.S. middle class
• Weakened by corporate-led globalization and unfair trade deals
• Climate crisis is an opportunity to create a new generation of manufacturing jobs GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio (Lisa DeJong/The Plain Dealer)
Manufacturing
• Buy clean• Each year the federal government spends
billions of tax dollars to buy goods
• National “buy clean” law would stimulate clean manufacturing
• Requiring tax dollars to be spent on goods made under certain conditions
• Protect our air, water, and climate
• Protect workersCalifornia Buy Clean (buyclean.org)
State and Local Examples
• California• Buy Clean policy
• Requires 800 large industrial facilities to track, report, and reduce carbon emissions
• Requires state agencies to take supplier emissions into account
California Buy Clean / buyclean.org
Manufacturing
• Buy Local• Encourages local manufacturing
of wind turbines, solar panels
• Could spur significant local job growth in clean energy manufacturing
• Requires that components be made in local businesses that offer high wages and good working conditions
First Solar plant in Lake Township, Ohio (Solar Power World)
Climate Conservation Corps
• Original New Deal had the Civilian Conservation Corps
• Green New Deal could have a Climate Conservation Corps
• Employ hundreds of thousands of people to restore essential ecosystems
Youth Conservation Corps (USDA/Flickr)
Climate Conservation Corps
• Forest growth and fire safety• Expand forests by planting trees that
sequester carbon
• Manage land to reduce fire risks
• Shield communities threatened by climate-fueled fires
Hiawatha National Forest Workers (Greg Peterson/Flickr)
Climate Conservation Corps
• Wetlands• Filter water
• Trap climate pollution
• Buffer communities from hurricanes, storms, and floods
• Wetlands rapidly disappearing• 90% of Ohio’s wetlands have been
destroyed or degraded
• Restoring wetlands• Protect homes and communities from
climate-fueled storms John Wallace Ciccarelli Jr/Wikimedia Commons
Climate Conservation Corps
• Hazardous waste cleanup• Thousands of communities live near a
hazardous waste site
• Former industrial facilities
• Abandoned mines
• Disproportionately affects low-income and communities of color
• Hire and train workers to safely clean up this waste
Climate-Friendly Farming
• Large-scale industrial agriculture
contributes to carbon pollution
• Climate-friendly farms sequester carbon
• Boosts economic security
• Makes farms more climate resilient
Ecological Farming Association
Policies to ensure equity
• Require projects to• Pay family-sustaining wages
• Hire locally
• Offer training
• Sign labor agreements with unions
• Give priority to projects that• Reduce climate, air, and water pollution
• Help communities prevent climate disasters
• Benefit low-income and communities of color
• Allow communities to define their own priorities and benefits
The Green New Deal is already happening!
• 100% clean energy commitments• 166 cities
• Cleveland• Cincinnati (city #100)• Lakewood, South Euclid
• 13 counties• California, Hawaii, Maine,
Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, Washington
• DC and Puerto Rico
• 100 million people
• 1 in 3 in the United States
Sources
• “What is a Green New Deal?” Sierra Club, November 2018
• Ben Beachy, “Five Big Ideas for a Green New Deal,” Sierra Club, January 9, 2019
• “A Green New Deal is Already Underway in States and Cities,” Sierra Club, May 2019
• “Communities are ready for 100%,” Ready for 100, Sierra Club